Thomas Spencer Monson joined the top ranks of the Mormon Church as a young man, called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at age 36.

On Monday, at age 80, he was named president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 16th since it was organized in 1830. He immediately declared the church would not veer significantly from the course set by his predecessor, Gordon Hinckley, who died Jan. 27 at age 97.

He takes over at a time when the church is undergoing rapid global growth and coming under close scrutiny because of Mormon Mitt Romney's campaign for president. The church now has 13 million members in 160 countries. Of those, about 5.7 million members are in the USA, and one-third of church members live in Utah....